Sometimes there is more drama backstage than
onstage.
Balagula Theatre's latest production, The Dresser, by Oscar-winning writer
Ronald Harwood, explores the emotionally blurred landscape of the
relationships among a third-rate Shakespeare touring company in 1942
England.
The effect is a realistic 20th-century backstage tragedy that rivals, and at
times parallels, the repertoire of the company.
Chief among the company members is Sir, the troupe's star, an aging veteran
actor played by local acting legend Ed Desiato. Sir is the dynamic, troubled
center of this theater "family." The troupe's sense of meaning and eventual
fate are inextricably tied to his.
Battling senility, exhaustion and the fading sense of importance of his
life's career in the theater, Sir is largely a broken man who rallies only
when his dresser, Norman, selflessly caters to Sir's ego.
In past productions of The Dresser, Sir has been played in wildly diverse
ways, from farcical to maniacal, but Desiato plays Sir with a compelling mix
of helplessness, agitation, decadent greatness and flawed humanity.
From the docile, forgetful senior who, even five minutes to curtain mutters,
"What play are we doing?" before stepping onto the stage to deliver a great
(and final) Lear, Sir is the epitome of the last generation of British
"actor- managers" of his day.
No moment drives this home more than Sir's decision to continue the
production amid the blaring sirens of a German air raid, a moment of the
play that inspires pity and awe.
Because of Desiato's extraordinary performance, one cannot help but feel
Sir's palpable magnetism, one that draws others, perhaps perilously, to
devote their life's work to him.
Ryan Case, in the title role of Sir's dresser, Norman, is the most tragic
example of this. Case simply astounds in one of his best roles to date,
which is saying something.
While Norman has devoted 16 years of his life to washing Sir's underwear and
intimately preparing him to play the likes of Lear and Othello, his own
life's meaning seems dwarfed and even bankrupt by comparison. Although he is
a backstage hero of sorts due to his ability to wrangle a pitiful, senile
Sir into a Shakespearean king, he receives no discernable gratitude from
Sir.
Case is simply enchanting in this role, and his emotional range and physical
delivery lend this small production a sense of professional gravitas. His
performance alone is more than worth the admission ticket.
Another familiar face in Lexington theater, Adam Luckey, trades the
spotlight for the director's chair, where he proves just as formidable a
talent. His inventive use of Natasha's space is particularly effective. For
instance, the opening of the second act coincides with Lear's opening in the
play, which Luckey cleverly stages in the adjoining boutique, giving the
audience a sense that it is privy to a real backstage experience. It also
emphasizes the contrast between the characters' onstage and off-stage lives.
What's more impressive, though, is his pensive, complex slant on a play that
easily could veer into the realm of farce or self-parody.
Drawing on some of the best local talent available, The Dresser is a
gripping production perfectly suited for the intimate venue of Natasha's
Cafe and a promising indication of what is to come as Balagula Theater
continues to grow professionally.
